48th Report - Smarter delivery of public services

The Profession is actively sharing its professional frameworks, promoting collaboration through events and programmes, and collaborating on initiatives like the new operational delivery apprenticeship with the wider public sector. It is also facilitating public and private sector engagement through partnerships like WIG and GovXchange, and promoting secondment opportunities.

The ODP agreed to raise the external profile of operational delivery as a desirable career path, particularly for students, by publishing an annual report and tracking application numbers by September 2026. They also will focus on regional activity, schools outreach, and ensure recruitment packs articulate the Profession’s purpose.

The ODP will promote operational delivery roles, track application numbers of the ODP Fast Stream, make recommendations to departments for all ODP role recruitment packs, increase focus on regional activity, and include metrics in the annual business plan to assess the impact of profile-raising activities by September 2026, and the plan will be shared by August 2026.

The ODP will measure take-up of resources used to engage staff in improving services and use existing HoP forums to discuss and share best practice relating to driving continuous improvement activity and building operational delivery capability by September 2026.

The ODP agreed to require all Departmental Heads of Profession to set out how they will ensure that their staff have the time, skills, tools and support to raise ideas, learn from each other, and get involved with improving services by September 2026, while continuing to measure resource take-up and using existing forums to share best practices.

The ODP agreed to encourage innovation and join up delivery between central and local government and the private sector. This will include placing members in local government roles, using capability development and learning offers, providing career paths, sharing learning, facilitating two-way secondment opportunities and knowledge sharing.

The ODP agreed to encourage innovation and join up delivery between central and local government and the private sector. This will include placing members in local government roles, using capability development and learning offers, providing career paths, sharing learning, facilitating two-way secondment opportunities and knowledge sharing.

The Profession agrees and will monitor the impact of its strategy, using the ODP Professional Skills Framework (PSF) and working with departments to identify measures to reflect the impact and effectiveness of profession deliverables, including cost avoidance and the development of common methodologies to measure operational delivery outcomes. Target implementation date: September 2026

The ODP will carefully measure the impact of all ODP products and services, work with cross-government partners and consider academic sources in identifying measures, consider a range of measures and indicators including cost avoidance, and develop common methodologies to measure operational delivery outcomes by September 2026.

The ODP will partner with the Government Digital and Data Profession and other stakeholders to understand and impact emerging technologies, use the research to identify future skills needs, and regularly update the Professional Skills Framework by December 2026.

The Profession agrees and will partner with stakeholders to understand emerging technologies, explore future skills needs, and regularly update the Professional Skills Framework, learning curriculum, and senior leadership programmes to reflect new skills and encourage cross-government and AI initiatives.

The ODP agreed to work with the Government Digital and Data Profession to define the digital skills that ODP professionals require, and include them in the new skills framework by December 2026. They will also partner with key stakeholders and regularly update the Professional Skills Framework.

The SRRT holds detailed data and collaborates with workforce planners, ranks requests for SRRT support, and works with departments to share learning to ensure effective workforce planning.

The Profession will continue to use existing Heads of Profession forums to discuss and share best practice on driving continuous improvement, building capability, and promoting learning and participation in initiatives. Work is also underway to introduce service standards to enable benchmarking and shared learning across departments.

The Profession will carefully measure the impact of its products and services, developing specific metrics to monitor progress against its strategy. Initial measures will be baselined by September 2026 and continuously monitored throughout the strategy's lifecycle.

The Profession is engaging with the Government Digital and Data Profession and conducting a workforce challenges study to identify future digital and AI skills needs. It committed to regularly updating its Professional Skills Framework, learning curriculum, and senior leadership programmes to reflect these new skills and required learning.

The Surge and Rapid Response Team (SRRT) already holds detailed data on organisations and regularly collaborates with workforce planners to understand demand needs and help build departments' operational capability. SRRT will continue to work with departments, sharing learning to ensure effective workforce planning and resource use.

The Profession committed to raising its profile and promoting operational delivery roles by tracking Fast Stream and apprenticeship applications, targeted marketing, increasing senior talent recruitment from the private sector, and encouraging departmental outreach programmes. It will also focus on regional activity and include metrics in its annual business plan, with the 2025-26 plan shared by August 2026.

The government agrees with the committee's conclusion, stating that the recommendation is implemented. They highlight ongoing efforts like sponsoring PAS to provide expert support and resources to local planning authorities and regular engagement through the Chief Planner's Newsletter.

The SRRT holds detailed data and collaborates with workforce planners, ranks requests for SRRT support, and works with departments to share learning to ensure effective workforce planning.

The SRRT holds detailed data and collaborates with workforce planners, ranks requests for SRRT support, and works with departments to share learning to ensure effective workforce planning.

The SRRT holds detailed data and collaborates with workforce planners, ranks requests for SRRT support, and works with departments to share learning to ensure effective workforce planning.